Having worked in the Cumberland Gap area back in the day, I’d drive up 25E through Tazewell TN, past the Mustang Lounge, and wind my way through the gap toward Middlesboro Kentucky. Why do I remember these places so well? I was standing in the back room of a grocery store in Middlesboro the day my grandfather died. It’s funny how a place can become an integral part of life’s most...

If you’ve followed the folk and Americana genres, or read Pat Pattison’s books on songwriting, you know who Gillian Welch and David Rawlings are. Since Revival, their first album in 1996, Welch and playing partner David Rawlings have become Americana legends. One of the primary reasons for their success is their song craft. Gillian Welch is an object writer. She’s a chronicler of...

I got a direct message through twitter asking about a Brandi Carlile song called “The Eye” (thanks Helen!). While I’ve listened to Brandi Carlile since her first album, I now realize I haven’t mentioned any of her songs on the site, so now’s the time! “The Eye” is a cautionary tale that doesn’t really come off as giving advice. The speaker focuses on how...

We’ll deconstruct Eric Church’s “Record Year” to discover the songwriting devices that made this song a #1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay Chart and #44 on the Hot 100 Chart, and garnered three CMA nominations. Written with band mate Jeff Hyde, who also co-wrote “Cold One,” “Springsteen,” “Kill A Word” and “Smoke A Little Smoke”...

“Parachute,” written by Chris Stapleton and Jim Beavers, is one of my favorite songs on Traveller. It delivers a universal message in a very economical package. For example, you’ll find a single chord progression repeating itself, sparse imagery and a few missing rhymes! We’ll take a deep dive on Chris Stapleton’s “Parachute”, detailing what makes the song work,...

Lori McKenna’s “The Bird & The Rifle” is a lesson in song craft. And, she’s a great example of how writing first for yourself, growing your skills and then being able to write for a genre outside your own can result in commercial success. She’s one of the top songwriters in Nashville not because she focused on being a songwriting for Nashville or country artists, but...

Written by Adele and producer Greg Kurstin, “Hello” focuses on a telephone conversation/voicemail. The song brilliantly leverages the strength of direct address to create a highly personal moment, while the melody moves from ballad to power ballad utilizing eighth notes and scale shifts to create defining moments within simple, direct lyrics Even if you’re not a vocalist, you can...

How do you make a very personal moment a song that can connect with thousands and top the Texas Regional Radio Music Chart? Aaron Watson did just that with “Bluebonnets,” which also charted as high as #13 on the Music Row Country Breakout Chart. The song was inspired by a tragic personal loss: his fourth child, Julia Grace Watson, passed away just hours after she was born. While the song will evoke...

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Posted by lashibes on Feb 27, 2018 | Comments Off on When To Stop “Finishing” A Song

Finishing a song is important, don’t get me wrong. But, not every song deserves endless revisions. I believe there are some songs that come out and flow down the page simply to get you to the next one. Not...

SC Named a Top Songwriting Blog!

Who's Writing This Anyway?!

While I do have a corporate life as a marketing professional, I've been involved in songwriting for a number of years. Back in the 90's I performed in the successful Americana duo Amelia Earhart Returns in Knoxville TN and surrounding states, with airplay on one of my favorite stations - WNCW in Spindale.

I'm proud to be a published poet and honored to be a recipient of the Bain-Swiggett Poetry Prize.

I've had the privilege of sitting in a church basement with Gillian Welch & David Rawlings talking about songwriting, sharing the stage with . . .[MORE]